Methods for generating stabilized lyophilized materials

ABSTRACT

Lyophilized biological reagents, such as enzymes (e.g., PCR reagents) and antibodies, are provided that include a wax component. Thus, in some aspects, a method is provided for storing a biological reagent comprising formulating the reagent into a lyophilized composition including a wax component. Methods for using such lyophilized reagents are likewise provided.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/013,695, filed Jun. 18, 2014, the entirety of whichis incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of molecularbiology, immunology, recombinant DNA technology, and nucleic acidamplification. More particularly, it concerns lyophilized biologicalreagents that include a wax component and the use of such reagents.

2. Description of Related Art

Most biological reagents are inherently unstable at ambienttemperatures. Lyophilization (freeze-drying) is one approach that can beused to stabilize biological reagents such that they can be stored foran extended period of time at room temperature. Excipients, such assugars, proteins, polymers, buffers, and surfactants, can be added tostabilize the lyophilized biomolecule. For example, Crowe, et al.describes the stabilization of dry phospholipid bilayers and proteins bysugars (Biochem. J. 242: 1-10 (1987)), and also reviews theunderstanding of the mechanisms of trehalose stabilization of cells in“The trehalose myth revisited: Introduction to a symposium onstabilization of cells in the dry state” Cryobiology 43, 89-105 (2001).Lyophilization of biological reagents results in generation of materialwith very low moisture content (<5%), and the functionality of thelyophilized material is compromised if it is not stored dry. Achievingdry storage conditions can involve the use of secondary storagecontainers, vacuum sealing, or low-humidity storage facilities orchambers. However, these storage mechanisms can be cumbersome.Accordingly, there is a need for stabilized, lyophilized biologicalcompositions that can be stored at ambient temperature and humidity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first embodiment there is provided a composition of stabilizedlyophilized biological reagents comprising a lyophilized pelletcomprising at least one biological reagent, said pellet being coated orimpregnated with a wax component. It was surprisingly found that the waxdoes not adversely affect the lyophilized pellet, but rather protectsthe lyophilized pellet by reducing or preventing moisture absorption bythe lyophilized pellet. Moreover, for certain application such as PCR,the wax provides an additional benefit by serving as an evaporationbarrier after it has been melted away from the lyophilized pellet andformed a layer on top of the aqueous PCR solution.

In certain aspects, a lyophilized pellet of the embodiments comprisestwo three four or more different biological reagents. In certain aspectsa lyophilized pellet of the embodiments is provided in a container, suchas tube or a well. The tube may be, for example, a PCR tube. The wellmay be, for example, a well of a multi-well plate. Preferably the tubeor well is composed of a substantially non-reactive material such as aplastic. In still further aspects, a plate is provided comprising aplurality of lyophilized pellets of the embodiments, such that eachpellet is disposed in a separate well of the plate.

Thus, some aspects of the embodiments concern wax components that coator are impregnated in a lyophilized pellet of the embodiments. In someaspects, the wax component can comprise an animal, plant, mineral orpetroleum derived wax, or mixtures of such waxes. In still furtheraspects, the wax can comprise a purified wax or a synthetic wax (e.g.,polyethylene or chemically-modified waxes). For example, a compositionof the embodiments may comprise an animal wax such as beeswax, Chinesewax, or shellac. In further aspects, composition comprises a plantderived wax such as bayberry wax, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, castorwax, esparto wax, japan wax, jojoba wax, ouricury wax, rice bran wax,soy wax or tallow tree wax. In still further aspects, the wax componentcan comprise a mineral wax (e.g., ceresin wax, or ozocerite) orpetroleum wax (e.g., paraffin, microcrystalline wax, docosane, siliconewax, Chill-Out™ wax, or petroleum jelly). A skilled artisan willrecognize that a wax can be comprised of a plurality of differenthydrocarbon or substituted hydrocarbon molecules or may be composedessentially of a single species of molecule. In certain preferredembodiments, the wax is a solid under storage conditions (e.g., at roomtemperature) and a liquid at least one temperature during the relevantbiological/chemical reaction. For example, if the lyophilized pelletcomprises reagents for a reverse transcription reaction at 50° C., thewax would preferably have a melting temperature below 50° C. but abovethe temperature at which the lyophilized pellet is stored. In thismanner the wax melts away from the lyophilized pellet allowing thereagents to rehydrate when it is heated to the reaction temperature.Waxes with higher melting temperatures could be used, but would need tobe initially heated above the reaction temperature to separate the waxfrom the lyophilized pellet before proceeding with the reaction at thelower temperature.

In further aspects, the wax component (that coats or impregnates alyophilized pellet of the embodiments) is composed of a mixture of atleast two, three or four different waxes or at least one, two or threewaxes and at least one, two or three oils. In some aspects, the waxcomponent is composed of docosane and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) oil.For example, in some aspects, a wax component can include about 10%,15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45% or 50% docosane by volume, or anyrange derivable therein, and the balance of PDMS oil (i.e., 50%, 55%,60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85% or 90% PDMS oil, or any range derivabletherein). Optionally, a wax component may comprise docosane, paraffinand PDMS oil. For instance, in some aspects, a wax component can includeabout 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%,19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 30%, or 35% by volume docosane, orany range derivable therein; 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%,14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 30%, or 35%by volume paraffin, or any range derivable therein; and the balance ofPDMS oil. In some aspects, the wax component comprises docosane andmineral oil. For example, in some aspects, a wax component can includeabout 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45% or 50% docosane by volume,or any range derivable therein, and the balance of mineral oil (i.e.,50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85% or 90% PDMS oil, or any rangederivable therein). Optionally, a wax component may comprise docosane,paraffin and mineral oil. For instance, in some aspects, a wax componentcan include about 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%,17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 30%, or 35% by volumedocosane, or any range derivable therein; 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%,12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%,30%, or 35% by volume paraffin, or any range derivable therein; and thebalance of mineral oil.

Certain wax components for use according to the embodiments include, butare not limited to (in percent by volume), (1) 25-35% docosane and65-75% PDMS oil; (2) 10-45% docosane, 5-35% paraffin and 25-75% PDMSoil; or (3) 10-45% docosane, 25-55% paraffin wax and 25-40% mineral oil.Some specific wax components for use according to the embodimentsinclude, but are not limited to (in percent by volume), (1) 30% docosaneand 70% PDMS oil; (2) 15% docosane, 15% paraffin and 70% PDMS oil; (3)42% docosane, 28% paraffin and 30% PDMS oil; (4) 38.5% docosane, 31.5%paraffin and 30% PDMS oil; (5) 22.5% docosane, 7.5% paraffin and 70%PDMS oil; or (6) 20% docosane; 10% paraffin and 70% PDMS oil.

In certain aspects, a combination of waxes and oil may be used, such asparaffin wax, docosane and mineral oil. For example, paraffin wax,docosane and mineral oil can be combined at a ratio of 30:40:30 or50:15:35. A blend of wax may be made first and then added to thelyophilized material as blended wax pellet (e.g., that is then melted byheating). A blend of wax may also be melted first and then added on topof a lyophilized material.

In further aspects, a combination of wax and oil may be used such asdocosane and mineral oil. The mineral oil may, in some aspects, be addedon top of the wax covered lyophilized cake. For example at least 1 μL ofoil can be added on top of a wax covered lyophilized cake. In furtheraspects, about 5-15 μL of oil is added on top of a wax coveredlyophilized cake.

In still further aspects, a two-layered wax may be used wherein one waxis solid at room temperature and the second wax is liquid at roomtemperature. For example, docosane wax can be added on top of alyophilized material and then melted to generate wax impregnated lyocake. In further aspects, a wax which is solid at less than roomtemperature (e.g., below 14° C.) and liquid at room temp, such asChill-Out™ wax, is added on top of the wax impregnated lyo cake therebyallowing the liquid wax to form a seal around the lyo cake.

In some aspects, a two-layered wax may be used wherein one wax is liquidat room temperature and the second wax is solid at room temperature. Forexample, a wax which is solid at less than room temperature (e.g., below14° C.) and liquid at room temp, such as Chill-Out™ wax, can be added ontop of a lyophilized material to impregnate the lyo cake and thendocosane wax can be added on top and melted to form a seal over the lyocake and liquid wax.

In still further aspects, a two-layered sealing approach may be usedwherein mineral oil (a higher density material than wax) is added on topof a lyophilized material so that it impregnates the lyo cake and thendocosane wax (a lower density material than oil) is added on top andmelted to form a seal over the lyo cake and mineral oil.

In certain embodiments, the waxes are those with a melting point ofbetween approximately 5° C., 10° C., 15° C., 20° C., 25° C., 30° C., 35°C., or 40° C. and approximately 40° C., 45° C., 50° C., 55° C., 60° C.,65° C., 70° C., 75° C., 80° C. or 85° C. Those skilled in the art canselect a wax with the appropriate melting temperature for a givenapplication because the melting temperatures of waxes are readilyavailable and/or readily determined. In preferred aspects, a wax for useaccording to the embodiments has a specific gravity less than that ofthe aqueous liquid. In still further aspects, the v:v ratio of the waxto the wet (i.e., prior to lyophilization) reagents or to thelyophilized pellet is between 1:5 and 5:1, 1:4 and 4:1, 1:3 and 3:1, or1:2 and 2:1. In preferred aspects, the amount of wax component toreagent is greater than 1:4 or greater than 1:3 (e.g., greater than1:2.5).

In still further aspects, a composition comprising a lyophilized pelletof the embodiments has a water content of less that about 10%. Forexample, the water content can be less than 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1%. In certainaspects, the water content is between about 0.1% and 5%.

Thus, certain aspects of the embodiments concern a biological reagent,such as a biological reagent comprised in a lyophilized pellet. In someaspects, the biological reagent is a polynucleotide such as a DNA, cDNA,or RNA (e.g., a messenger RNA (mRNA), small interfering RNA (siRNA), amicro RNA (miRNA) or a short hairpin RNA (shRNA)). In still furtheraspects, the biological reagent is a polypeptide. In some aspects, thebiological reagent is a therapeutic reagent or an assay reagent. In apreferred aspect, a biological reagent of the embodiments is apolypeptide, such as an enzyme, a ligand or an antibody. In certainaspects, the enzyme can be a DNA methyltransferase or a nuclease such asa DNase, an RNase (e.g., RNase A, RNase H (or RNaseH-2) RNase I, RNaseIII, RNase L, RNase P, RNase PhyM, RNase T1, RNase T2, RNase U2 or RNaseV), an exonuclease or a restriction endonuclease (e.g., a methylationsensitive restriction endonuclease). In further aspects, the enzyme is apolymerase, such a RNA polymerase, a DNA polymerase or a reversetranscriptase. In some specific examples the enzyme is a Taq polymeraseor Klenow polymerase. In further examples, the biological reagent is aligase (e.g., T4 DNA ligase).

In further aspects, of the embodiments a lyophilized pellet may compriseadditional components such as a buffer, a salt, a label and/or enzymaticco-factors. For instance, in certain aspects, a lyophilized pellet ofthe embodiments comprises all of the components required to performpolymerase chain reaction (PCR) or reverse transcription-PCR except fora template nucleic acid molecule (and water). In some aspects, thelyophilized pellet may further comprise at least one oligonucleotideprimer or at least one primer pair. In still further aspects, thelyophilized pellet comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10primers or primer pairs (e.g., for performing a multiplex PCR reaction).In certain aspects, the lyophilized pellet may further comprise a buffer(e.g., HEPES, MES, MOPS, TRIS or BIS-TRIS Propane) and/or nucleosidetriphosphates (NTPs) (e.g., dATP, dGTP, dCTP, TTP, UTP, or a combinationthereof). In certain aspects, the lyophilized pellet further comprisesat least a first modified NTP, such as, for example, an isobase (e.g.,iso-G or iso-C), a labeled nucleotide (e.g., dabcycl diGTP,biotin-diGTP, a fluor-labeled nucleotide or quencher-labelednucleotide).

In further aspects, a lyophilized pellet of the embodiments comprises atleast one label (i.e., a molecule that facilitates the detection of amolecule such as a nucleic acid sequence). For example, the label can becovalently attached to nucleotide or an intercalating dye. Numerouslabel molecules that may be used according to the embodiments are knownand include, without limitation, fluorophores, chromophores, andradiophores. Non-limiting examples of fluorophores include, a redfluorescent squarine dye such as2,4-Bis[1,3,3-trimethyl-2-indolinylidenemethyl]cyclobutenediylium-1,3-dio-xolate,an infrared dye such as 2,4Bis[3,3-dimethyl-2-(1H-benz[e]indolinylidenemethyl)]cyclobutenediylium-1,-3-dioxolate,or an orange fluorescent squarine dye such as2,4-Bis[3,5-dimethyl-2-pyrrolyl]cyclobutenediylium-1,3-diololate.Additional non-limiting examples of fluorophores include quantum dots,sulfonated coumarin, rhodamine, xanthene, or cyanine dyes (e.g., AlexaFluor™ dyes), Aminomethylcoumarin (AMCA), boron-dipyrromethene(BODIPY™), Cyanine (Cy2™) or a Cyanine derivatives such asindocarbocyanine (Cy3™) or indodicarbocyanine (Cy5™), a DNAintercalating dye, 6-Carboxyfluorescein (6-FAM™), Fluorescein,Phosphoramidite (HEX™),6-Carboxy-4′,5′-Dichloro-2′,7′-Dimethoxyfluorescein, Succinimidyl Ester(6-JOE™), phycobilliproteins including, but not limited to,phycoerythrin and allophycocyanin, Rhodamine derived dyes,Tetramethylrhodamine or a xanthene derivative (e.g., Oregon Green™ orTexas Red™). In some aspects, a signal amplification reagent, such astyramide (PerkinElmer), may be used to enhance the fluorescence signal.Indirect label molecules contemplated for use according to theembodiments include, without limitation, biotin, which must be bound toanother molecule such as streptavidin-phycoerythrin for detection. Pairsof labels, such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer pairs ordye-quencher pairs, may also be employed.

In some aspects, a lyophilized pellet of the embodiments furthercomprises a sugar (e.g., a mono-, oligo-, or polysaccharide) or amixture of sugars. In certain aspects, the sugar is sucrose, glucose,lactose, trehalose, arabinose, pentose, ribose, xylose, galactose,hexose, idose, mannose, talose, heptose, fructose, gluconic acid,sorbitol, mannitol, methyl α-glucopyranoside, maltose, isoascorbic acid,ascorbic acid, lactone, sorbose, glucaric acid, erythrose, threose,allose, altrose, gulose, erythrulose, ribulose, xylulose, psicose,tagatose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, mannuronic acid,glucosamine, galactosamine, neuraminic acid, arabinans, fructans,fucans, galactans, galacturonans, glucans, mannans, xylans, levan,fucoidan, carrageenan, galactocarolose, pectins, pectic acids, amylose,pullulan, glycogen, amylopectin, cellulose, dextran, cyclodextrin,pustulan, chitin, agarose, keratin, chondroitin, dermatan, hyaluronicacid, alginic acid, xantham gum, or starch, or a combination of two ormore of these sugars. In some particular aspects, the sugar istrehalose, dextran, mannitol, sucrose, raffinose, or a combinationthereof. Exemplary combinations of sugars include, without limitation,trehalose and dextran, mannitol and dextran, or trehalose and mannitol.For example, in certain aspects, a lyophilized pellet is formed from anaqueous mixture comprising a biological reagent and about 1% to about30% of a sugar by volume (e.g., between about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9,10, 11, 12, 13 or 15% sugar and about 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29or 30% sugar). In certain specific aspects, a lyophilized pellet isformed from an aqueous mixture comprising about 1-10% trehalose and/orabout 1-10% dextran (e.g., about 5% trehalose and about 5% dextran).

In still further aspects, a lyophilized pellet of the embodimentsfurther comprises a stabilizer (e.g., protein stabilizer such as bovineserum albumin (BSA) or gelatin). In certain specific aspects, alyophilized pellet of the embodiments is formed from an aqueous mixturecomprising about 0.1 to about 1.0 mg/ml of a polypeptide stabilizer suchas BSA. For example, the pellet can be formed from an aqueous mixturecomprising about 0.5 mg/ml of BSA.

In some aspects, the wax-stabilized lyophilized pellet may furthercomprise at least one solid object. The solid object can be useful infacilitating inversion of the wax and aqueous layers following themelting of the wax and/or in mixing or dispersing the lyophilizedreagents into the aqueous solution following the melting of the wax. Thesolid object can be positioned on top of the wax-stabilized lyophilizedpellet, underneath the wax-stabilized lyophilized pellet or even withinthe wax-stabilized lyophilized pellet. In some aspects, a the solidobject may be embedded in the wax associated with the lyophilizedpellet. The solid object may be, for example, a spherical (i.e., a“ball”), disk-shaped, or rod-shaped. The solid object is preferably madeof, or at least coated with, a material that is inert to the reactionconditions intended for the biological reagents in the lyophilizedpellet. In certain aspects, the solid object may comprise ceramic,glass, plastic (e.g., polystyrene, polyethylene, polyethene,polypropylene, neoprene, poly(tetrafluoroethylene)), or metal (e.g.,stainless steel). In one embodiment, the solid object is a stainlesssteel object that has been passivated to remove free iron or otherinclusions from its surface. Stainless steel can be passivated by, forexample, by a series of acid baths, which clean free iron or otherinclusions from the surface, and form a uniform natural oxide layer thatprotects the stainless steel from corrosion. In certain aspects, thesolid object is magnetic or magnetically responsive. Where an objectiveof including the solid object with the wax-stabilized lyophilized pelletis to facilitate inversion of the wax and aqueous layers and/or to mixthe lyophilized reagents into the aqueous solution, the solid objectshould be of an appropriate size to achieve these functions in view ofthe size and shape of the container. In certain aspects, a solid objectmay have a diameter or length in its longest dimension of between about0.5 mm to about 5 mm, or between about 1 mm to about 2 mm. In someaspects, the aqueous liquid may have a specific gravity less than thatof the solid object(s). In alternative aspects, the aqueous liquid mayhave a specific gravity greater than that of the solid object(s).

In a further embodiment, provided herein is a method of performing anenzymatic reaction comprising: (a) combining in a receptacle an aqueousliquid comprising an enzyme substrate and a wax-coated (or impregnated)lyophilized pellet according to the embodiments, wherein the wax-coatedlyophilized pellet comprises an enzyme; (b) melting the wax; and (c)incubating the mixture under conditions favorable to enzymatic reaction,thereby performing preforming an enzymatic reaction. In one aspect, themethod may further comprise mixing the reaction solution prior to and/orconcurrent with step (c). In some cases mixing can be by agitation ofthe receptacle (e.g., a tube or a well), by sonication, by pipetting orby movement of the wax (e.g., by the inversion of the wax and aqueouslayers upon melting of the wax) or a solid object in the receptacle(e.g., by gravity or magnetic attraction).

In still a further embodiment, provided herein is a method of performingPCR or reverse transcription PCR comprising: (a) combining in areceptacle an aqueous liquid comprising nucleic acids, and optionallyone or more additional RT-PCR or PCR reagents, and a wax-coated (orimpregnated) lyophilized pellet according to the embodiments, whereinthe wax-coated lyophilized pellet comprises any RT-PCR or PCR reagentsnot provided in the aqueous liquid (with the proviso that the wax-coatedlyophilized pellet contains at least one RT-PCR or PCR reagent that isnot present in the aqueous liquid); (b) melting the wax; (c) optionally,performing at least one cycle of reverse transcription and (d)performing at least one cycle of PCR. In one aspect, the method mayfurther comprise mixing the reaction solution prior to step (c) or step(d). In further aspects, the methods comprise performing a quantitativePCR reaction or quantifying the products of the PCR. In some casesmixing can be by agitation of the receptacle (e.g., a tube or a well),by sonication, by pipetting or by movement of the wax (e.g., by meltingof the wax) or a solid object in the receptacle (e.g., by gravity ormagnetic attraction).

In some aspects, methods of the embodiments can comprise melting a waxcomponent of a lyophilized pellet prior to combining it with the aqueousliquid. In some aspects, the aqueous liquid may be pre-heated and thewax may be melted by combining the pre-heated aqueous liquid with thewax-coated lyophilized pellet. In further aspects, a wax component foruse in the methods of the embodiments is positioned under thelyophilized pellet and comprises a specific gravity less than theaqueous liquid. Thus, in certain aspects a reaction can be mixed bymelting the wax and allowing it to migrate through the aqueous liquid.

In still further aspects, a method of the embodiments further comprisesmeasuring the homogeneity of the aqueous liquid after mixing of thereaction (e.g., by movement of a solid object in the reaction). Thus, insome aspects, one or more additional mixing steps is performed if theaqueous liquid is not determined to be sufficiently homogenous. In somespecific aspects for example, measuring the homogeneity of the aqueousliquid comprises measuring the fluorescence signal of a fluorescentlabel in the in the aqueous liquid.

In further aspects, a method of the embodiments comprises use of acomposition that comprises a solid object. In one aspect, a method mayfurther comprise mixing the aqueous liquid (and/or a melted waxcomponent) by inducing movement of the solid object, such as by gravityof magnetism. In certain aspects, the solid object may be a magnetic ormagnetically responsive solid object and movement of the solid objectmay be induced by a magnet. For example, the solid object may be astainless steel ball, disk, or rod that can be moved by a magnet. Insome aspects, the solid object may be moved from the bottom of thereceptacle to a position within two solid object diameters of theaqueous liquid/wax interface without the solid object contacting theaqueous liquid/wax interface. In certain aspects, a solid object ismoved only one time to accomplish a mixing. In further aspects, thesolid object may be moved repeatedly, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10, 15, 20, 30 or more times.

In still a further embodiment, a method is provided for making acomposition of stabilized lyophilized biological reagents comprising:(a) lyophilizing the biological reagents (e.g., an aqueous mixture ofbiological reagents); and (b) forming a wax barrier that contacts andsurrounds the lyophilized biological reagents to form a stabilizedlyophilized pellet of biological reagents. In some aspects, the formingthe wax barrier comprises adding a solid wax and then melting the wax.In further aspects, the wax is added in a molten (liquid) form. Incertain aspects, forming the wax barrier may comprise combining thebiological reagents and a wax prior to lyophilizing the biologicalreagents. Thus, in some aspects, the wax may be melted in a lyophilizer.

In some further aspects, forming the wax barrier may comprise: (a)combining the lyophilized biological reagents and a solid wax; and (b)melting the solid wax to form a liquid wax. In certain aspects, themelting of the solid wax may be performed using a heat block, oven, ormicrowave. In certain aspects, the melting of the solid wax may beperformed under vacuum.

In some aspects, forming the wax barrier may comprise combining thelyophilized biological reagents and a liquid wax. In certain aspects,the method may further comprise heating the lyophilized biologicalreagents and the liquid wax. In various aspects, a method may furthercomprise applying a vacuum to the lyophilized biological reagents and aliquid wax. In certain aspects, the method may further comprisesolidifying the wax.

In some aspects, the method may further comprise placing a solid objecton top of the stabilized lyophilized biological reagents. In furtheraspects, the method may further comprise placing a solid object belowthe stabilized lyophilized biological reagents. In some aspects, themethod may further comprise embedding a solid object in the waxsurrounding the stabilized lyophilized biological reagents or embeddingthe solid object in the lyophilized pellet. In various aspects, thesolid object may be a ceramic solid object, polymer solid object, glasssolid object, magnetic solid object, or metal solid object.

In further specific embodiment, there is provided a method of making acomposition of stabilized, lyophilized PCR or RT-PCR reagentscomprising: (a) combining a solid object and one or more PCR (or RT-PCR)reagents in a receptacle; (b) lyophilizing the one or morelyophilization reagents and the one or more PCR reagents in the presenceof the solid object to form lyophilized PCR reagents; (c) adding wax tothe lyophilized PCR reagents; (d) melting the wax around the lyophilizedPCR reagents and the solid object; and (e) re-solidifying the wax toform stabilized, lyophilized PCR reagents. In some aspects, thelyophilization reagents may comprise one or more of the sugars andstabilizers mentioned above. In particular embodiments, thelyophilization reagents may comprise one or more of trehalose, dextran,mannitol, sucrose, raffinose, or a combination thereof. In some aspects,the PCR reagents may comprise one or more of a polymerase, a reversetranscriptase, primers, or nucleotide triphosphates. In some aspects,the wax is paraffin wax, docosane, or silicone wax, plant wax, or acombination thereof.

As used herein, “essentially free,” in terms of a specified component,is used herein to mean that none of the specified component has beenpurposefully formulated into a composition and/or is present only as acontaminant or in trace amounts. The total amount of the specifiedcomponent resulting from any unintended contamination of a compositionis therefore well below 0.05%, preferably below 0.01%. Most preferred isa composition in which no amount of the specified component can bedetected with standard analytical methods.

As used herein in the specification and claims, “a” or “an” may mean oneor more. As used herein in the specification and claims, when used inconjunction with the word “comprising”, the words “a” or “an” may meanone or more than one. As used herein, in the specification and claim,“another” or “a further” may mean at least a second or more.

As used herein in the specification and claims, the term “about” is usedto indicate that a value includes the inherent variation of error forthe device, the method being employed to determine the value, or thevariation that exists among the study subjects.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and the specificexamples, while indicating certain embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings form part of the present specification and areincluded to further demonstrate certain aspects of the presentinvention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one ormore of these drawings in combination with the detailed description ofspecific embodiments presented herein.

FIG. 1: Graphs show amplification curve and melt curve results for realtime PCR amplification of an Influenza A template nucleic acid. Curveswere obtained using lyophilized PCR reagent cakes that were covered withdocosane wax (curves indicted as A1; B1; A2; and B2); Chill-Out™ wax(A3; B3; and A4); or with no added wax component (curves indicted as F1;F2; F3; and F4).

FIG. 2: Graphs show amplification curve and melt curve results for realtime PCR amplification of an Influenza A template nucleic acid. Curveswere obtained using lyophilized PCR reagent cakes that were covered withmelted paraffin wax (curves indicted as A2; A3; A4; A5; A6; A8; A9; A10;A11; and A12); or with non-lyophilized (“wet”) PCR reagents formulatedjust prior to PCR cycling (curves indicted as A1; and A7).

FIG. 3: Graphs show amplification curve and melt curve results for realtime PCR amplification of an Influenza A template nucleic acid. Curveswere obtained using lyophilized PCR reagent cakes that were over-laidwith a docosane wax pellet (curves indicted as A2; A3; A4; A5; A6; A8;A9; A10; A11; and A12); or with non-lyophilized (“wet”) PCR reagentsformulated just prior to PCR cycling (curves indicted as A1 and A7).

FIG. 4: Graphs show amplification curve and melt curve results for realtime PCR amplification of an Influenza A template nucleic acid. Curveswere obtained using lyophilized PCR reagent cakes that were covered withmelted docosane wax (curves indicted as A1; A2; and A3); or withnon-lyophilized (“wet”) PCR reagents formulated just prior to PCRcycling (curves indicted as A4; A5; and A6).

FIG. 5A-D: FIG. 5A-B, Graphs show Ct (A) and Tm (B) values obtained byreal time PCR amplification of a Mouse Hepatitis Virus (MHV) RNA andDNA. From left to right each graph shows results obtained usingnon-lyophilized (“wet control”) PCR reagents formulated just prior toPCR cycling; PCR reagents in a lyophilized cake with no added waxcomponent (“lyo control”) or PCR reagents in a lyophilized cake that wascovered with melted docosane wax (“with wax”). FIG. 5C, Graphs showamplification curve and melt curve results for real time PCRamplification of an Influenza A template nucleic acid. Curves wereobtained from lyophilized PCR reagent cakes that were left untreated(A4) or covered with melted docosane wax in an amount of 10 μl (A3); 15μl (A2); 20 μl (A1) and incubated in high humidity conditions. Curvesfor control reactions with non-lyophilized (“wet”) PCR reagents aremarked as A5 and A11. The curve for lyophilized PCR reagent cakes thatwere not subjected to high humidity is labeled as A6. FIG. 5D, showslyophilized PCR reagent cakes that were exposed to high humidityconditions with or without a wax component, as indicated.

FIG. 6A-B: FIG. 6A shows a lyophilized PCR reagent cake over-laid with aceramic ball (left image) and a PCR reagent cake that has beenrehydrated by buffer addition, such that ceramic ball has migrated tothe bottom of the tube (right image). FIG. 6B, Graph shows amplificationcurve and melt curve results for real time PCR amplification of a MHVtemplate nucleic acid. Results show curves obtained from lyophilized PCRreagent cakes that were covered with melted docosane wax and over-laidwith a ceramic ball (dashed curves); or with non-lyophilized (“wet”) PCRreagents formulated just prior to PCR cycling (solid curves).

FIG. 7A-B: FIG. 7A shows a PCR reagent cake lyophilized over a stainlesssteel ball and covered with melted docosane wax (left image) and a PCRreagent cake that has been rehydrated by buffer addition after waxinversion (right image). FIG. 7B, Graphs show amplification curve (leftpanels) and melt curve (right panels) results for real time PCRamplification of a Norovirus template nucleic acid using three differentfluorescence channels FAM (top panels); AP593 (center panels); and AP559(bottom panels). Curves were obtained using (1) non-lyophilized (“wet”)PCR reagents including a stainless steel ball and hand mixed (depictedas curve #1); (2) lyophilized PCR reagent cakes without a wax componentand unmixed (depicted as curve #2); (3) lyophilized PCR reagent cakeswithout a wax component, but including a stainless steel ball that werehand mixed (depicted as curve #3); (4) lyophilized PCR reagent cakeswithout a wax component, but including a stainless steel ball that weremagnetically mixed (depicted as curve #4); (5) lyophilized PCR reagentcakes covered with melted docosane wax and including a stainless steelball that were not mixed (depicted as curve #5); and (6) lyophilized PCRreagent cakes covered with melted docosane wax and including a stainlesssteel ball that were magnetically mixed (depicted as curve #6).

FIG. 8: Graphs show amplification curve (left panels) and melt curve(right panels) results for real time PCR amplification of HSV templatenucleic acid. The results show curves obtained using (1) non-lyophilized(“wet”) PCR reagents that were not mixed (depicted as curve #1); (2)lyophilized PCR reagent cakes covered with melted docosane wax andincluding a ceramic ball that was not mixed (depicted as curve #2); and(3) lyophilized PCR reagent cakes covered with melted docosane wax andincluding a stainless steel ball that were magnetically mixed (depictedas curve #3).

FIG. 9A-C: FIG. 9A-C shows amplification curve (left panel) and meltcurve (right panel) results for real time PCR amplification of aNorovirus RNA. Lyophilized PCR reagent cake over-laid with a 25 μLdocosane wax (9A) or docosane wax overlay followed by 15 μL of ChillOut™ wax (9B) or docosane wax overlay followed by 15 μL of mineral oil(9C) were stored in a 80% Relative Humidity chamber (dashed lines) or ina sealed, dry chamber (solid lines) Results show that the docosane, ordocsane overlaid with chill out wax or docosane overlaid with mineraloil provides an effective vapor barrier.

FIG. 10: Graph show the results of real-time PCR amplification of aNorovirus RNA. Lyophilized PCR reagent cake over-laid with a 30 μLdocosane wax, or docosane wax overlay followed by 15 μL of mineral oil,or lyophilized PCR reagent cake over-laid with a 30 μL blend of waxes(Paraffin wax:Docosane wax:mineral oil in the ratio of 30:40:30) orlyophilized PCR reagent cake over-laid with 30 μL Paraffin wax stored indry box (T1 CTRL), or stored in ambient environment (T1 Ambient) ofstored in a 80% Relative Humidity chamber (T1 80%). Lyophilized PCRreagent cake over-laid with a 30 μL docosane wax and stored in a 80%Relative Humidity chamber did not generate any PCR amplification result.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Biological reagents are inherently unstable at ambient temperatures andare often stabilized with sugars via lyophilization. Lyophilizing anybiological material (nucleic acid/proteins/lipid/carbohydrate) resultsin generation of lyophilized cakes or pellets that need to be protectedfrom moisture. Embodiments of the present invention offer a solution tokeep biological molecules protected from environmental moisture. Waxprovides a barrier to prevent or inhibit moisture from accessing thelyophilized biological material, once the lyophilized material isremoved from the lyophilizer. This can be achieved by melting wax over alyophilized cake after removal from the lyophilizer using, for example,a heat block or oven or vacuum oven, or by apply the wax in a liquidform to the lyophilized cake. Alternatively, lyophilizing the biologicalreagent in presence of wax and melting the wax within the lyophilizerupon completion of lyophilization cycle also allows for generation oflyophilized cakes that are protected from atmospheric moisture. Theprocess of lyophilization involves removal of water from a frozenbiological material/reagent under vacuum via sublimation. Sugars andstabilizers can be added to aid in retaining the structure of theproteins and other biological material so that the functional activitiesof the biological material are not compromised.

Thus, in one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method forincreasing the stability of lyophilized reagents, by contactinglyophilized material with wax. For example, a wax can be added in amanner so that the wax forms a layer around the lyophilized material orsuch that the lyophilized material becomes impregnated with the waxcomponent. Preferably, the wax solidifies at ambient temperature andforms a barrier around the lyophilized material preventing any moistureexchange with the environment. Importantly, studies presented heredemonstrate that such lyophilized wax compositions are able to maintainbiological activity of the components in the formulation. In particular,studies demonstrate that reagents used for PCR can be reliably stored ina wax-lyophilized form and that enzymatic activity of, for example, apolymerase is not only maintained but remains sufficiently active toprovide quantitative amplification of a target nucleic acid. Thus, thestudies indicate that proteins even enzymes such a polymerases, whichare sensitive to contaminants in a reaction, can be stored and remainhighly active in a lyophilized wax formulation. Accordingly, lyophilizedformulations including a wax component can be used to store a wide rangebiologically active molecules, such as enzymes and antibodies whileeffectively maintaining the biological activity of the molecules.

In certain specific aspects, wax formulations of the embodiments cancomprise reagents for performing PCR cycling. Such formulation can begenerated by either adding the wax a part of the lyophilization processor by covering a lyophilized reagent cake with a wax (e.g., a moltenwax) after lyophilization. In this aspect, following storage the wax ismelted prior to or concurrent with PCR cycling and the lyophilizedreagents come in contact with the added target molecule that is to beamplified. Thus, in some cases, the wax is also used as a vapor barrierduring PCR, to prevent evaporation from the reaction. Furthermore, afterPCR cycling, the wax can solidify and create a full or partial barrierto potential amplicon contamination.

I. REAGENTS FOR FORMULATION IN LYOPHILIZED COMPOSITIONS

In some aspects, lyophilized pellets are provided comprising abiological reagent and a wax component (e.g., coating the pellet), suchas a low-temperature melting wax. As used herein the term “lyophilizedpellet” or “lyophilized cake” are used interchangeably and refer to amass of material that has substantially reduced in water content, e.g.,to less than about 5% water. Such cakes or pellets can be of any shapeor size.

As used herein a low-temperature melting wax is a wax material having amelting point of approximately 25° C. to 75° C. The wax material mayhave a melting point slightly higher than normal human body temperature,i.e., approximately 37° C. to 45° C. Example wax materials include thestraight-chain alkanes, such as N-docosane, N-eicosane, and mixturesthereof. N-docosane and N-eicosane have melting points of approximately42-45° C. and 36-38° C., respectively. Other exemplary wax materials areparaffin wax and silicone wax. Silicone waxes behave like typicalhydrocarbon waxes in that they undergo a phase transition from a solidto a viscous liquid over some well-defined temperature range, usuallyslightly above room temperature.

In some aspects, a wax-covered pellet of the invention may eithercontain a solid object (e.g., a ball, disk, or rod) or there may be asolid object placed on top of the pellet. Such a solid object may, forexample, be a ceramic ball, magnetic ball, metal ball (e.g., stainlesssteel), or glass ball. The ball may, for example, have a diameterbetween approximately 0.5 mm and approximately 10 mm.

Many sugars stabilize biomolecules in solution and afford protection toisolated cells and biomolecules. Therefore, in some aspects, awax-covered pellet of the invention may comprise sugars, for example,saccharides and polyols (e.g., trehalose, dextran, mannitol, sucrose,and raffinose) in order to improve the stability of the biomolecule andprolong shelf life. Sugars may be used in combinations, such as, forexample, trehalose and dextran, mannitol and dextran, or trehalose andmannitol. Without being bound by theory, there are two main theories onthe mechanism of the stabilizing action of sugars: 1) the sugarexcipients serve to dilute proteins in the solid state, therebydecreasing protein-protein interactions and preventing moleculardegradation, such as aggregation, and 2) the sugar excipients provide aglassy matrix wherein protein mobility and hence reactivity areminimized. In both of these mechanisms, it is believed to be importantthat the sugar remains in the amorphous, protein-contacting phase.Various environmental factors, such as increased temperature andmoisture, can induce sugar crystallization.

In addition, inert proteins may also be used to stabilize biomolecules.An inert protein refers to a naturally occurring or synthetic peptide orpolypeptide, or mixtures thereof, that does not interfere with enzymeactivity. Examples not limiting the scope of the present invention areglobulin, albumin (e.g., bovine serum albumin), collagen and derivativesthereof. The protein is preferentially present at a concentration ofover 0.01 mg/ml, over 0.05 mg/ml and over 0.1 mg/ml. Preferably, theconcentration is not over 2 mg/ml. In a preferred embodiment, the inertprotein is bovine serum albumin (BSA) as well derivatives and fragmentsthereof. Fragments thereof have more than 50% of the length of naturallyoccurring BSA, more than 60% of the length of naturally occurring BSA,more than 70% of the length of naturally occurring BSA, more than 80% ofthe length of naturally occurring BSA, more than 90% of the length ofnaturally occurring BSA, and most preferentially more than 95% of thelength of naturally occurring BSA.

In some aspects, a wax-covered pellet of the invention may contain oneor more buffer suitable for use with the lyophilized biomolecule. Suchbuffers include, for example, bis-tris propane (BTP) and Tris.

In various aspects, a wax-covered pellet of the embodiments will containat least one biological reagent, such a polypeptide. Such biologicalreagents include, for example, an enzyme (e.g., DNA polymerase, Taqpolymerase, reverse transcriptase, RNA polymerase, Klenow polymerase,ligase, RNase H-2), nucleic acid molecules (e.g., primers or probes),and antibodies. In some aspects, various components of an amplificationmixture for PCR may be present. In further aspects, components requiredcomplete a nucleic acid hybridization reaction can be comprised in alyophilized pellet of the embodiments. In still further aspects,components required complete binding hybridization of proteins orprotein-protein interactions are comprised in a pellet.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a technique widely used inmolecular biology to amplify a piece of DNA by in vitro enzymaticreplication. Typically, PCR applications employ a heat-stable DNApolymerase, such as Taq polymerase. This DNA polymerase enzymaticallyassembles a new DNA strand from nucleotides (dNTPs) usingsingle-stranded DNA as template and DNA primers to initiate DNAsynthesis. A basic PCR reaction requires several components and reagentsincluding: a DNA template that contains the target sequence to beamplified; one or more primers, which are complementary to the DNAregions at the 5′ and 3′ ends of the target sequence; a DNA polymerase(e.g., Taq polymerase) that preferably has a temperature optimum ataround 70° C.; deoxynucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs); a buffer solutionproviding a suitable chemical environment for optimum activity andstability of the DNA polymerase; divalent cations, typically magnesiumions (Mg²⁺); and monovalent cation potassium ions.

Amplification mixtures may include natural nucleotides (including A, C,G, T, and U) and non-natural or non-standard nucleotides (e.g.,including isoC, isoG, labeled nucleotides, dabcycl diGTP, biotin-diGTP).DNA and RNA oligonucleotides include deoxyriboses or riboses,respectively, coupled by phosphodiester bonds. Each deoxyribose orribose includes a base coupled to a sugar. The bases incorporated innaturally-occurring DNA and RNA are adenosine (A), guanosine (G),thymidine (T), cytosine (C), and uridine (U). These five bases are“natural bases.” According to the rules of base pairing elaborated byWatson and Crick, the natural bases hybridize to form purine-pyrimidinebase pairs, where G pairs with C and A pairs with T or U. These pairingrules facilitate specific hybridization of an oligonucleotide with acomplementary oligonucleotide.

As used herein “nucleic acid” means either DNA or RNA, single-strandedor double-stranded, and any chemical modifications thereof.Modifications include, but are not limited to, those which provide otherchemical groups that incorporate additional charge, polarizability,hydrogen bonding or electrostatic interaction to the nucleic acid ligandbases or to the nucleic acid ligand as a whole. Such modificationsinclude, but are not limited to, 2′-position sugar modifications,5-position pyrimidine modifications, 8-position purine modifications,modifications at exocyclic amines, substitution of 4-thiouridine,substitution of 5-bromo or 5-iodo-uracil, backbone modifications, andmethylations. Accordingly, the nucleic acids described herein includenot only the standard bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G),thymine (T), and uracil (U) but also non-standard or non-naturalnucleotides. Non-standard or non-natural nucleotides also include basesthat form non-natural hydrogen-bonding base pairs (e.g., isobases). By“non-standard nucleotide” or “non-natural nucleotide” it is meant a baseother than A, G, C, T, or U that is susceptible to incorporation into anoligonucleotide and that is capable of base-pairing by hydrogen bonding,or by hydrophobic, entropic, or van der Waals interactions, with acomplementary non-standard or non-natural nucleotide to form a basepair. Some examples include the base pair combinations of iso-C/iso-G,K/X, K/P, H/J, and M/N, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,120,incorporated herein by reference. Other non-standard nucleotides for usein oligonucleotides include, for example, naphthalene, phenanthrene, andpyrene derivatives as discussed, for example, in Ren, et al., J. Am.Chem. Soc. 1996, 118:1671 and McMinn et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999,121:11585, both of which are incorporated herein by reference. Thesebases do not utilize hydrogen bonding for stabilization, but insteadrely on hydrophobic or van der Waals interactions to form base pairs.

In some aspects, non-natural bases that differ from the naturallyoccurring bases (A, T, C, G, and U) in their hydrogen bonding patternmay be incorporated into the primers and probes described herein. Oneexample are the isoC and isoG bases that hydrogen bond with each other,but not with natural bases. The incorporation of these non-natural basesin primers and/or probes is useful in reducing non-specifichybridization. Methods of using such non-natural bases to assay targetnucleic acids are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,977,161 and 7,422,850,which are incorporated herein by reference. In one aspect, at least oneof the two target-specific primers used to amplify the target nucleicacid includes at least 1, 2, 3, or 4 non-natural bases, and thecomplementary non-natural base is included in the amplificationreaction, such that the non-natural base(s) is included in theamplification product.

A primer is a nucleic acid that is capable of priming the synthesis of anascent nucleic acid in a template-dependent process. A target-specificprimer refers to a primer that has been designed to prime the synthesisof a particular target nucleic acid. A primer pair refers to twoprimers, commonly known as a forward primer and a reverse primer, whichare designed to amplify a target sequence between the binding sites ofthe two primers on a template nucleic acid molecule. In certainembodiments, the primer has a target-specific sequence that is between10-40, 15-30, or 18-26 nucleotides in length.

A probe is a nucleic acid that is capable of hybridizing to acomplementary nucleic acid. A target-specific probe refers to a probethat has been designed to hybridize to a particular target nucleic acid.Probes present in the reaction may comprise a blocked 3′ hydroxyl groupto prevent extension of the probes by the polymerase. The 3′ hydroxylgroup may be blocked with, for example, a phosphate group, a 3′ inverteddT, a ribonucleotide, or a label. High stringency hybridizationconditions may be selected that will only allow hybridization betweensequences that are completely complementary.

As used herein, “labels” are chemical or biochemical moieties useful forlabeling a nucleic acid. “Labels” include fluorescent agents,chemiluminescent agents, chromogenic agents, quenching agents,radionuclides, enzymes, substrates, cofactors, scintillation agents,inhibitors, magnetic particles, and other moieties known in the art.“Labels” are capable of generating a measurable signal and may becovalently or noncovalently joined to an oligonucleotide. Numerouslabels that may be used to label nucleic acids are known, including butnot limited to fluorophores, chromophores, and radiophores. Non-limitingexamples of fluorophores include, a red fluorescent squarine dye such as2,4-Bis[1,3,3-trimethyl-2-indolinylidenemethyl]cyclobutenediylium-1,3-dioxolate,an infrared dye such as 2,4Bis[3,3-dimethyl-2-(1H-benz[e]indolinylidenemethyl)]cyclobutenediylium-1,3-dioxolate,or an orange fluorescent squarine dye such as2,4-Bis[3,5-dimethyl-2-pyrrolyl]cyclobutenediylium-1,3-diololate.

As used herein, a “fluorescent dye” or a “fluorophore” is a chemicalgroup that can be excited by light to emit fluorescence. Some suitablefluorophores may be excited by light to emit phosphorescence. Dyes mayinclude acceptor dyes that are capable of quenching a fluorescent signalfrom a fluorescent donor dye. Fluorescent dyes or fluorophores mayinclude derivatives that have been modified to facilitate conjugation toanother reactive molecule. As such, fluorescent dyes or fluorophores mayinclude amine-reactive derivatives, such as isothiocyanate derivativesand/or succinimidyl ester derivatives of the fluorophore.

A quencher as used herein is a moiety that absorbs and thereby decreasesthe apparent intensity of a fluorescence moiety when in close proximityto a fluorescence moiety. In some aspects, a quencher for use accordingto the embodiments emits the absorbed fluorescence in differentspectrum. Thus, in some aspects, a detection method of the embodimentsemploys a filter that to reduce or remove fluorescence emitted by aquencher. In certain aspects, a quencher is a dark quencher with nonative fluorescence and therefore do not occupy an emission bandwidth.Such a dark quencher is a substance that absorbs excitation energy froma fluorophore and dissipates the energy as heat. Examples of darkquenchers include, but are not limited to, Dabcyl, Black Hole Quenchers,Qxl quenchers, Iowa black FQ, Iowa black RQ, and IRDye QC-1.

The oligonucleotides and nucleotides of the disclosed methods may belabeled with a quencher. Quenching may include dynamic quenching (e.g.,by FRET), static quenching, or both. Suitable quenchers may includeDabcyl. Suitable quenchers may also include dark quenchers, which mayinclude black hole quenchers sold under the trade name “BHQ” (e.g.,BHQ-0, BHQ-1, BHQ-2, and BHQ-3, Biosearch Technologies, Novato, Calif.).Dark quenchers also may include quenchers sold under the trade name“QXL™” (Anaspec, San Jose, Calif.). Dark quenchers also may includeDNP-type non-fluorophores that include a 2,4-dinitrophenyl group.

II. EXAMPLES

The following examples are included to demonstrate preferred embodimentsof the invention. It should be appreciated by those of skill in the artthat the techniques disclosed in the examples which follow representtechniques discovered by the inventor to function well in the practiceof the invention, and thus can be considered to constitute preferredmodes for its practice. However, those of skill in the art should, inlight of the present disclosure, appreciate that many changes can bemade in the specific embodiments which are disclosed and still obtain alike or similar result without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

Example 1—Use of Docosane and Chill-Out™ Wax as Barriers to theLyophilized Reagent Cake

Studies were undertaken to test whether lyophilized cakes comprisingreagents for performing PCR could be protected by wax sealing, whilestill maintaining the ability to achieve robust and quantitative PCR.Lyophilized cakes contained all of the reagents for real-time PCRamplification and detection of an Influenza A target sequence. Thesereagents were dried-down together in a 50 μL cake. These cakes were thentreated with two different waxes. In one case, 60 μL of docosane wax waspipetted on top of the lyophilized cakes and allowed to solidify at roomtemperature. In a second test case 60 μL of Chill-Out™ wax (Bio-RadLaboratories, Inc.) was pipetted on top of the lyophilized cakes andplaced in a cold plate to solidify. Chill-Out™ wax added in this mannerabsorbs into the lyophilized cake and remains solid as long as the cakesare kept below 10° C.

Upon rehydration and template addition, the docosane and Chill-Out™ waxreagent cakes were compared in a PCR assay to “control” lyophilizedcakes containing no wax (but that included a mineral oil vapor barrierduring PCR). All material was tested side by side on the thermocyclerapparatus using RT-PCR (Reverse transcriptase at 50° C. for 15 minfollowed by a denaturation step of 2 min at 95° C. followed by 50 cyclesof PCR (95° C./5 sec-58° C./10 sec-72° C.-30 sec) and a melt step from60° C. to 95° C.). Results indicate that the Ct and Tm values and meltdeflection are comparable across docosane or Chill-Out™ wax and “no waxlyo pellet” (see, e.g., FIG. 1), which indicated that a wax protectivelayer (wax impregnated) reagent cake maintains robust enzymatic activityand is able to achieve comparable quantitative characteristics ascompared to control reagent cakes.

Example 2—Use of Paraffin Wax as Vapor Barrier to the Lyophilized Cake

Lyophilized reagent cakes (25 μL) were prepared in snap cap tubes thatcomprise real-time PCR reagents and primers for Influenza Aamplification. Unless otherwise detailed, lyophilized reagent cakesproduced according to the instant examples were produced from a startingwet reagent volume of 25 μL and included 5% trehalose (w/v), 5% dextran(w/v), and 0.5 mg/mL BSA. Paraffin wax was added to a subset of thetubes by melting a 20 μL paraffin wax pellet over the lyophilized cake.The wax was melted on a heat block at 70° C. for 1.5 minutes.

Testing was performed on a real-time thermocycler apparatus and resultswere compared to a wet control made immediately prior to testing. Thewet control contained all of the critical components of the PCR reagentmaster mix, but did not contain the sugar required for lyophilization.The wax covered lyophilized cakes were heated for 30 seconds and thenthe Tris buffer was added. The pellet was heated for another 30 secondsand then immediately placed in the thermocycler apparatus for testing.Alternatively, Paraffin wax inversion mixing was done off-instrument ona heat block. The results of the studies comparing the paraffin-coatedcake with control are shown below in Table 1 and FIG. 2 (results fromamplification using paraffin-coated cakes are labeled as A2-A6 andA8-A12 whereas control is labeled as A1 and A7). These studiesdemonstrated that quantitative amplification can be successfullyachieved using a reagent cake that has been impregnated with paraffinwax.

TABLE 1 Results of PCR with paraffin-coated reagent cakes versus controlaverage Ct Average Tm paraffin 36.7 0.9 84.8 0.4 Control 31.7 0.4 84.80.3

Example 3—Use of Docosane Pellets as Vapor Barrier to the LyophilizedCake

A 20 μL docosane wax pellet was also added to a 25 μL Influenza Alyophilized cake. The wax was melted on a heat block with an in-welltemperature of 50° C. for 3.5 minutes. Testing was performed on areal-time thermocycler apparatus and results were compared to a wetcontrol made immediately prior to testing. The wet control contained allof the critical components of the master mix, but did not contain thesugar required for lyophilization. The results are shown in Table 2 andFIG. 3 (results from amplification using docosane-coated cakes arelabeled as A2-A6 and A8-A12 whereas control is labeled as A1 and A7).These studies demonstrated that quantitative amplification can besuccessfully achieved using a reagent cake that has been coated withdocosane wax.

TABLE 2 Results of PCR with docosane-coated reagent cakes versus controlaverage Ct Average Tm docosane 34.3 1.0 85.2 0.3 Control 33.5 0.8 85.00.5

Example 4—Use of Molten Wax (Docosane) as Vapor Barrier to theLyophilized Cake

Influenza A lyophilized cakes (50 μL cakes) were prepared and coatedwith 60 μL docosane wax. Docosane wax was heated to 100° C. and then 60μL was pipetted onto the lyophilized cake and allowed to solidify.Testing was performed on a real-time thermocycler apparatus aftermelting/inversion mixing of wax-coated cakes, and results were comparedto a wet control made immediately prior to testing. The wet controlcontained all of the critical components of the master mix, but did notcontain the sugar required for lyophilization. Results of these studiesare shown in FIG. 4 (results from amplification using docosane-coatedcakes are labeled as A1-A3 whereas control is labeled as A4-A6). Thesestudies confirmed that quantitative amplification can be successfullyachieved using a reagent cake that has been coated with molten docosanewax.

Example 5—RNA and DNA Testing

25 μL lyophilized cakes were prepared using Mouse Hepatitis VirusPrimers lyophilized in tubes. Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV)reverse transcriptase enzyme was added to the master mix to allow fordetection of both RNA and DNA internal control target using the samelyophilized cakes. Docosane wax (25 μL) was melted over the lyophilizedcakes using a heat block with an in-well temperature of 50° C. for 3.5minutes in 25% relative humidity (RH) conditions. Testing was performedon a real-time thermocycler apparatus with an off-instrument inversionof the wax. To perform the off-instrument inversion, wax covered cakeswere heated on a heat block with an in-well temperature of 50° C. for 30seconds. 50 μL of 50° C. target was added to the tube and the tube wasimmediately transferred to a thermocycler instrument. The same testingparameters were used for both DNA and RNA. Wax covered lyophilized cakeswere compared with the same lyophilized cakes with no wax covering (lyocontrol) and a wet control. The wet control contained all of the samecomponents as the lyophilized material but was prepared immediatelybefore testing. Results of these studies showed that Ct (Table 3 andFIG. 5A) and Tm (Table 4 and FIG. 5B) values are comparable across allconditions.

TABLE 3 Ct values for DNA and RNA using control reaction versuswax-covered lyophilized pellet wet control lyo control with wax RNA 34.633.6 34.8 DNA 33.9 33.9 33.7

TABLE 4 Tm values for DNA and RNA using control reaction versus wax-covered lyophilized pellet wet control lyo control with wax RNA 81.080.2 81.0 DNA 81.4 80.0 81.0

Example 6—Wax as a Vapor Barrier and the Quantity of Wax for Use

Influenza A lyophilized cakes (25 μL) were prepared in snap cap tubes.Varying amounts of docosane wax was melted on the lyophilized cakes (20,15, 10 μL) and allowed to solidify. Wax-covered lyophilized cakes werethen placed in a 35° C. oven (a temperature lower than the wax melttemperature to make sure the wax was still solid) containing a pan ofwater to create a high humidity environment. Material was left in theoven until the uncovered lyo cake control shriveled (˜1 hour). Resultingmaterials were tested on a thermocycler apparatus.

Results of these studies are shown in FIG. 5C-D and indicate thatuncovered lyophilized material subjected to high humidity (A4) resultsin a Ct delay compared to the wet control (A5 and A11) and no-humiditylyophilized control (A6). However, when the material is protected byhigher amounts of wax (20 μL and 15 μL, labeled as A1 and A2,respectively), Ct values are comparable to the controls, even afterexposure to high humidity. Reduced levels of wax component (10 μL, A3)also resulted in a Ct delay when subjected to high humidity.

Example 7—Ball on Top of the Lyo Cake Aids in Wax Inversion

25 μL Mouse Hepatitis Virus specific primer reaction mix contained inlyophilized cakes were prepared and covered with 25 μL docosane wax in avacuum oven set to 55° C. for 15 minutes. A ceramic ball was placed ontop of the wax covered cake prior to melting, which resulted in theceramic ball being embedded in the wax after melting and re-solidifying.Testing was performed in-tube using Mouse Hepatitis Virus RNA as target.Wax inversion occurred during the wax melting of the RT step and wasaided by the ceramic ball. The ceramic ball dropped to the bottomthrough gravity during the wax melting procedure, thus breaking thesurface tension and the interface between the wax and the resuspensionbuffer, allowing any “stuck” wax to rise to the top. The ceramic ballalso freed any air bubbles already stuck in the resuspension buffer andallowed for a break in the surface tension at the bottom of the tube,preventing air bubbles from forming or remaining near the bottom.

Testing was compared to a wet control that was prepared immediatelybefore testing. While this wet control contained all of the criticalcomponents of master mix, it did not contain the dextran and trehaloseused for lyophilization. Results of the studies shown in FIG. 6A-B(ceramic ball wax-coated reagent cake is indicated in dashed lines; wetcontrol indicated in solid lines) and Table 5 indicates that wax coveredlyophilized material with a ceramic ball on top resulted in 100%detection of the target in both the amplification and melt.

TABLE 5 Real-time PCR with ceramic ball wax-coated reagent cake versuswet control Condition Ct STDEV wet control 31.87 0.94 Ceramic 34.94 1.14

Example 8—Lyophilized Cake with Steel Sphere on Bottom of Cake andMixing Processes

A chrome steel magnetic ball was added to the PCR tubes and 25 μL of PCRreagent master mix (specific for Norovirus amplification) was added ontop of the ball for lyophilization. The magnetic ball is thereforepositioned underneath the cake and no additional ball(s) were addedpost-wax addition. A subset of the Norovirus cakes were covered with 25μL of docosane wax. Wax was added as a pellet and then melted in avacuum oven set to 50° C. for 5 minutes. Testing was performed on athermocycler apparatus with a mixing step during the ReverseTranscriptase (RT) step.

Reconstitution of the Lyophilized Master Mix was initiated 90 secondsafter the start of the reverse transcriptase step, and after the waxinversion. Magnetic mixing using the metal ball aids in the inversion ofwax that has not naturally inverted by disrupting the surface tension atthe wax-resuspension buffer interface. The metal ball also reduces thesurface tension, which allows for any air bubbles that may be caught inthe resuspension buffer to be released and rise to the top. Finally, themagnetic mixing is used to mix the resuspension buffer with thelyophilized cake and ensure uniform distribution of master mixcomponents. During the mixing process, a magnet was moved towards thePCR tube, which lifted the metal ball to just under the liquid/waxinterface, where it was held for 3 seconds. The magnet then moved awayand waited for 3 seconds, thereby releasing the ball to the bottom. Thiscontinued for 90 seconds.

Testing of the wax covered lyophilized pellet with the metal ball wascompared to a “wet” master mix that was prepared immediately beforetesting and contained all of the same components as the master mix;however, it used a mineral oil vapor barrier instead of a wax vaporbarrier. Results were also compared to the same lyophilized reagentcakes that had been wax covered, but not mixed and that had not beencovered with wax and had been either unmixed, hand mixed, or magneticmixed.

Results of the studies are shown in FIG. 7B and Table 6. These resultsdemonstrated that lack of mixing (curves labeled #2 and #5) resulted insignificant fluorescence spike/noise at the beginning of cycling(“doglegs”), which may affect detection of amplification (as exemplifiedby the curves labeled #5 in the FAM channel). 100% detection ofNorovirus was achieved in the wax covered lyophilized material with themagnetic stainless steel ball on the bottom of the lyophilized cake.

TABLE 6 Real-time RT-PCR results from amplification of Norovirus targetusing different lyophilized reagent cakes and mixing conditions.Norovirus FAM AP559 AP593 Mean Stdev Mean Stdev Mean Stdev Ct Ct Ct CtCt Ct Wet Hand Mixed w/Ball 25.38 0.77 28.67 0.42 25.3 0.22 UncoveredLyo Unmixed 25.55 0.69 29.01 0.65 25.45 0.46 Uncovered Lyo pipette 25.450.53 27.64 0.14 25.52 0.17 Mixed w/Ball Uncovered Lyo Magnetic 26.180.95 29.05 0.35 24.93 0.49 Mixed Wax Sealed Lyo w/Ball n/a n/a 31.060.75 27.99 0.37 No Mix Wax Sealed Lyo Magnetic 27.70 0.52 30.65 0.4727.94 0.46 Mixed

Example 9—Comparison of Ceramic Vs Metal Spheres for Mixing Process

Lyophilized reagent cakes specific for HSV detection (25 μL) wereprepared and covered with 25 μL of docosane wax. Wax was added as apellet and then melted in a vacuum oven set to 50° C. for 5 minutes.After solidification, a ceramic ball or a metal ball was placed on topof the cakes. PCR was performed on a thermocycler apparatus with amixing step during the Reverse Transcriptase (RT) step. The mixing stepbegan 90 seconds after the start of the RT step, which allowed for waxinversion to occur. During the wax melting process, the metal ballplaced on top dropped to the bottom via gravity. Once it was at thebottom, a magnet moved towards the PCR tube, which lifted the metal ballto just under the liquid/wax interface, where it was held for 3 seconds.The magnet then moved away and waited for 3 seconds, thereby releasingthe ball to the bottom. This continued for 90 seconds. The ceramic ballwas also placed on top and dropped to the bottom through gravity duringthe wax melting procedure, but since the material is not magnetic, itundergoes no further mixing. Testing was compared to a “wet” master mixthat was prepared immediately before testing and contained all of thesame components as the master mix; however, it used a mineral oil vaporbarrier instead of a wax vapor barrier.

Results of these studies are shown in Table 7 and FIG. 8 (Curves labeled#2 indicates mixing with a stainless steel ball; #3 indicates reactionswith the ceramic ball; and #1 indicated the “wet” reagent control).Results of these studies show that there is no significant functionaldifference between wet, ceramic, and the metal ball conditions in termsof calculated Ct and Tm values. However, the addition of the mixing withthe stainless steel ball resulted in a decrease in “doglegs” orgeneration of a flatter fluorescence base-line when compared to theceramic, which is likely the effect of increased mixing.

TABLE 7 Tm and Ct results for reactions using different mixingconditions and different ball compositions. HSV-FAM DNA Control- DNAControl HSV-FAM Average AP559 AP559 Average Ct Tm average Ct Average Tmwet 27.19 0.02 85.75 0.13 34.25 0.71 73.57 0.18 Ceramic 27.14 0.62 86.020.24 32.86 0.69 72.69 0.59 Metal Ball 27.41 0.06 85.98 0.15 32.95 0.3772.93 0.72

Example 10—Wax Formulations and Formulation Methods

Further wax compositions were formulated for use in making stabilizedlyophilized reagent cakes. In a first example protocol, a wax containing30% docosane and 70% PDMS oil was formulated. First, a 1.5 mL tube of100% docosane wax was heated at 65° C. using a thermocycler. 700 μL PDMSoil was added to a new 1.5 mL tube and also heated to 65° C. 300 μL ofthe melted 100% docosane wax was then added to the 700 μL of PDMS in the1.5 mL vial. The mixture continued to be heated at 65° C. and mixed byaspiration/dispense with a P1000 pipette. Once the wax composition wasthoroughly mixed, 25 μL aliquots of the wax mixture were pelleted onto afoil covered cold block. Pellets were allowed to cool and formed solidwax within a minute. Pelleting was repeated until the desired number ofpellets was produced. The pellets may be further melted or deposited asa solid for use in coating lyophilized reagent cakes.

A further wax formulation was composed and contained 15% docosane, 15%paraffin and 70% PDMS oil. For this formulation 100% docosane wax wasmelted at 65° C. in a 1.5 mL tube. Likewise, 100% paraffin wax wasmelted at 65° C. in a 1.5 mL tube. Next, 500 μL of 100% docosane wax wasadded to 500 μL of 100% paraffin in a new 1.5 mL vial. The mix continuedto be heated at 65° C. and was mixed by aspiration/dispense with a P1000pipette. Separately, 700 μL PDMS oil was added to another new 1.5 mLtube and heated to 65° C. Next, 300 μL of the docosane/paraffin mixturewas added to the 700 μL PDMS in the new 1.5 mL vial. The final waxmixture continued to be heated at 65° C. and mixed byaspiration/dispense with a P1000 pipette. Once thoroughly mixed, 25 μLaliquots of the wax mixture were pelleted onto a foil covered coldblock. Resulting pellets were cooled and formed solid wax within aminute. Pelleting was repeated until the desired number of pellets wasproduced. The pellets may be further melted or deposited as a solid foruse in coating lyophilized reagent cakes.

Example 11—Use of a Two-Layered Wax as Vapor Barrier to the LyophilizedCake

Lyophilized reagent cakes (25 μL) were prepared in snap cap tubes thatcomprise real-time PCR reagents and primers for Norovirus RNAamplification. The lyophilized PCR reagent cake was overlaid with 25 μLdocosane wax or docosane wax overlay followed by 15 μL of Chill Out™ waxor docosane wax overlay followed by 15 μL of mineral oil. The docosanewax cakes and the two-layered wax cakes were stored in a 80% RelativeHumidity chamber or in a sealed, dry chamber (control) for 3 days.Testing was performed on a real-time thermocycler apparatus and resultswere compared to the control. The results are shown in FIG. 9. Resultsshow that the docosane, or docosane overlaid with chill out wax ordocosane overlaid with mineral oil provides an effective vapor barrier.

Example 12—Use of Combination of Waxes as Vapor Barriers to theLyophilized Cake

Lyophilized reagent cakes (25 μL) were prepared in snap cap tubes thatcomprise real-time PCR reagents and primers for Norovirus RNAamplification. The lyophilized PCR reagent cake was overlaid with 30 μLdocosane wax or docosane wax overlay followed by 15 μL of mineral oil orthe lyophilized PCR reagent cake was overlaid with a 30 μL blend ofwaxes (Paraffin wax:Docosane wax:mineral oil in the ratio of 30:40:30,volume:volume:volume) or lyophilized PCR reagent cake overlaid with 30μL Paraffin wax. The docosane wax cakes and the wax-layered lyophilizedcakes were stored in a dry box (T1 CTRL), or stored in a ambientenvironment (T1 Ambient) or stored in a 80% Relative Humidity chamber(T1 80%) for 1 month. Testing was performed on a real-time thermocyclerapparatus and results were compared to the control (T1 CTRL). Theresults are shown in FIG. 10. Results show that a combination of waxesprovided a more effective vapor barrier.

All of the methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executedwithout undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. Whilethe compositions and methods of this invention have been described interms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill inthe art that variations may be applied to the methods and in the stepsor in the sequence of steps of the method described herein withoutdeparting from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. Morespecifically, it will be apparent that certain agents which are bothchemically and physiologically related may be substituted for the agentsdescribed herein while the same or similar results would be achieved.All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilledin the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and concept of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

REFERENCES

The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplaryprocedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, arespecifically incorporated herein by reference.

-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,272-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,364-   U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,983-   U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,120-   U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,496-   U.S. Pat. No. 6,977,161-   U.S. Pat. No. 7,422,850-   Crowe, et al. Biochem. J. 242: 1-10 (1987).-   “The trehalose myth revisited: Introduction to a symposium on    stabilization of cells in the dry state”, Cryobiology 43, 89-105    (2001).-   McMinn et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121:11585-   Ren, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1996, 118:1671

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making a composition of stabilized,lyophilized PCR reagents comprising: (a) combining a solid object whichmay have a diameter or length in its longest dimension of between about0.5 mm to about 5 mm or between about 1 mm to about 2 mm, one or morelyophilization reagents, and one or more PCR reagents in a receptacle;(b) lyophilizing the solid object, the one or more lyophilizationreagents, and the one or more PCR reagents to form lyophilized PCRreagents; (c) adding a solid wax to the lyophilized PCR reagents in areceptacle; (d) heating both the wax and the lyophilized PCR reagents inthe receptacle to melt the wax and impregnate the lyophilized PCRreagents with the wax; and (e) re-solidifying the wax to formstabilized, lyophilized PCR reagents.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe solid object is a ceramic ball, glass ball, magnetic ball, or metalball.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the lyophilization reagentscomprise one or more of trehalose, dextran, mannitol, sucrose,raffinose, or a combination thereof.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinstep (d) is performed under vacuum.